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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. drill — the tool
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. drill — a practice
  6. field — a subject
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wind — moving air
  10. field — farmland
  11. degree — temperature
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wind — moving air
  14. charge — a price
  15. charge — in control
  16. degree — an amount
  17. field — for sport
  18. charge — electricity
  19. degree — from a university
  20. drill — army training
  21. tear — from crying
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. wind — to turn a key

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com